Slipping Through The Cracks: HAHH Side Stories
by Apprentice Writer
Summary: A collection of short scenes that I meant to write into Helmets Are Hardly Heroic but either couldn't find a place for, or couldn't figure out at the time.
1. Reunion

**Someone requested I write this up. I was planning to do this scene, but I have trouble writing Flint. So have this as a short one shot to start off the side stories.**

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He had broken their promise. Lucas had promised Flint that he would return from the tunnels as long as Flint waited for him at the entrance to the cave. This, however, never happened. Then again, Flint had broken the promise as much as his child did. That wasn't strange though. Flint was a reliable man, but since his wife had died, his hadn't been able to keep a single promise.

"I promise that neither you nor Claus will get hurt," he had told Lucas once. That was a broken promise.

"I'll bring Claus home today." He's promised this one a thousand times, and a thousand times he had failed to follow through.

"I'll be back soon." He never came home that night. The last time he had visited the house had been months before Lucas left on his journey. It was a shock to him to discover his son was gone when he came home one day.

It was finally Lucas' turn to break a promise. They were far from even, but Flint was still worried. Then again, this was a situation very much deserving of worry. Instead of being in the horribly polluted New Pork City, he found himself at home, in bed.

Flint was calm for only a moment, before the memories of what had happened in New Pork City came rushing back. He had been waiting for Lucas when the ground started to shake. The cave was falling apart. He tried to rush to where his son was, and then there was simply darkness. He didn't know if Lucas was dead or alive. He knew one thing, he had to find his son. Losing one was more than enough.

The man was about to run out of the house when he noticed something. There was a shape in the other bed. Had whatever brought him here also brought Lucas home? Was it the Dark Dragon? The man was lucky his father in law had told him about what Ionia said. Otherwise, he wouldn't even have been aware of the mission his son was on. Flint gave a sigh of relief. He may never find Claus, but at least Lucas was still there.

As the balding man neared the bed to insure the person sleeping there was actually his son, he realized that there were in fact two shapes. Lucas and someone else? Could it be Claus? Was Claus still alive? The man's heart skipped a beat.

The blankets were up too high to be sure at first. He could see a little bit of Lucas' blond hair sticking up out of the bed. Flint had to hope. He reached and pulled down the blanket. He felt like he might cry at what he saw.

His younger son was curled up around the elder. For a moment, they continued to sleep peacefully. That was when the cold was noticed. Claus was the first one to wake up. He pushed off of his brother and tumbled out of the bed. He hadn't changed a bit. He was older now, a bit bigger, but he was still Claus. The older twin often found himself waking up due to that very situation. He was really no good at staying in bed.

Lucas, missing the warmth of his brother, groped at the bed for him. Unable to find him, he grabbed one of the other pillows and pulled it over his face to block out the warmth. Say what you wanted about Lucas, he was the master of sleeping in. He too, hadn't change all that much. At least not in the mornings.

"Stop being such a bed hog, Lucas… You pushed me out again." Claus groaned from his place on the ground. Even his voice was still the same. Flint was happier than he had been in years. This might actually be the happiest that he had ever been, aside from the day the twins were born.

"Claus… You're home," he finally managed to say. Up until this point, he'd been unable to speak. Finally, his family was back together. He'd been right. Claus was alive this whole time. Though he'd never found him, Claus was alive! "You're finally home."

The tears finally defeated Flint. He dropped to the ground and scooped out his missing boy. He pulled Claus into full wakefulness with a tight hug. The hug was only returned with one arm. It was a little strange, but Flint was more concerned that his missing boy was finally home.

At this point, Lucas got up. Claus shot him a look that Flint hadn't noticed. "You didn't tell him? Damn it, Lucas, you've known for like a week and you didn't tell him?!"

The younger twin gave a loud yawn. "I was going to surprise him. Once I brought you back home, I was going to tell him. I didn't want to get his hopes up and realize it was all a dream."

Claus sighed against his father. Finally, Flint broke the hug. He was leaving his other son out. A scolding from Alec had recently informed him of how Lucas felt. Lucas was always alone. He missed his father and still needed him, but Flint was always away looking for Claus.

"So you've known he was alive this long and you didn't tell me? I guess that was the surprise you said you had for me." Flint rubbed his forehead in annoyance, but it didn't last. "I'm just glad to have both of my boys with me. Come here Lucas, you deserve a hug as well. I'm sorry I was never there for you."

"It's alright." Lucas slid off the bed and into the three person hug. "I know you just wanted to find Claus. I was never mad."

"But you were alone, and that was wrong of me." Flint pulled both his son's close to him. "I missed you both."

"We missed you too," Lucas replied happily.

"Where in the world was Claus, though?" The two boys tensed at Flint's comment. He had the feeling he had touched a nerve with them, something he had not meant to do.

"Oh Dad…" Claus sighed. "That's a very long story…"

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**It's rather short, but I hope that it is okay for now. I won't be able to post anything else for a week, since I'll be without internet. I'm hoping to get the next two scenes complete by then, as well as the first chapter of the next fic I'm working on.**

**On a side note, we already packed lunch for the way done. We're having omelette sandwiches.**


	2. The Omelette Incident

**Thought you saw the last of me for the week? Nope. I wanted to get out one other scene before I left. Leaving it at one chapter would just be too sad. So here we have Lucas' side of the Omelette Incident from chapter 3, and a bit of chapter 4.**

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Lucas looked at the Commander with sight confusion. What in the world was the boy doing? It was like he'd never used a fork before. Oh, wait. The boy probably hadn't. If he wasn't trying to get on the Claus lookalike's good side, he would be laughing right now. It was a really a humorous sight. The omelette went up, and then it fell off again.

After the third attempt, the boy finally got the omelette to his plate. Of course, it was cheating as he not so discreetly nudged his plate right up to the one that the omelettes were on and dragged his meal a half foot off of the main plate to get it onto the new one. Most of it was still sticking off the side, for goodness sake. Still, Lucas didn't laugh. Later, when he went to the outhouse to relieve himself, he would laugh. He couldn't risk laughing in the Commander's face.

Kumatora, on the other hand, was having a much harder time concealing her amusement. She was about to say something when Lucas made a signal to be quiet. She looked disappointed, but did as he asked. He was glad they were close enough for her to respect such a wish.

Now that the Commander was trying to slice up his omelette, things got worse. He kept trying to use the fork as a sword. The boy had whacked the omelette a good three times before he finally figured out the proper way to cut it up.

_At least he's learning,_ Lucas thought. _Still, I should offer him a little help. It's not like he's eaten food before. Well, at least, I think so. Do robotic chimeras eat?_

"Are… You okay?" Lucas asked in a gentle voice. He wanted to be quiet, so that only the Commander heard. The Commander didn't seem to get this. He just spoke in a normal tone.

"I am fine. I just have never eaten solid food before." It looked like the young blond had guessed correctly. He silently cursed the Pig Masks for their cruel treatment of his possible twin brother.

"Wait, like never?" the princess inquired from across the table. She hadn't yet guessed that.

"It's much more manageable to take pills instead of consuming food, since I am not sure what my robotic body will reject or not." The Commander attempted to eat, so he could stop talking, but that too was an awkward process. He wasn't sure how to put it into his mouth properly. As first, he pushed the fork back too much and nearly choked. After that, he was more cautious.

"Then it might reject the omelette?" Duster asked in a concerned tone of voice.

"Not likely. If it does, I will simply be ill for a few hours," the Commander explained, earning a sigh of relief from both Lucas and Duster, as well as a relieved whine from Boney.

"Well, I'm sure you'll like it. Omelettes are amazing, and Duster is a really good cook." Lucas took a bite of his omelette. He was trying to give the Commander an example of how to eat, but the boy just looked at him with glazed over eyes.

The blond's compliment got the thief flustered, like it always did. Lucas pitied him. He wasn't used to praise after living with Wes. "I have more experience in cooking than Kumatora or Lucas, but I wouldn't say I'm all that good. Lucas is the real genius when it comes to omelettes."

"I cooked them a lot. They were the first thing I learned to cook. They were my and Claus' favourite." Lucas looked a little embarrassed as he spoke. Thinking of Claus… This could be like a test. If the Commander liked them, he was Claus for sure. If not… Well, maybe Lucas was wrong.

The Commander, despite being as dense as he was, caught onto this right was. He scrunched up his nose in poorly hidden anger. Lucas frowned. He'd been discovered. Now the Commander would say it tasted bad either way. Well, it wasn't very nice of the blond boy to try and trick him anyway. He should have let the Commander be his own person. It was wrong to force an identity onto someone.

The Commander continued to be confused with the food. Eventually, he figured he could just stick it into his mouth and bite down. There was the sharp sound of teeth coming down on metal too hard. This was all but ignored as the Commander's face lit up with joy, an emotion that he had not yet expressed to the group.

Suddenly, the boy who was confused by the simple act of bringing food up to his face was the master of eating omelettes. He actually just speared the whole things and took savage bites from it. He was getting omelette all over his face. Now Lucas couldn't help but laugh. That laugh was something he soon regretted.

The Commander finished his omelette in record time, managed to recover while Lucas was still laughing and dove his fork into the blond's partially eaten omelette. Lucas was horrified. He'd only gotten a bite out of it! However, the animal like look he got from the red head told him if he put a hand out to take the omelette back, he was going to lose it.

"My omelette…" he muttered sadly. All Lucas could do was mourn for his lost supper. At least Duster had made extras.

That omelette went down at half the speed of the first. Lucas' looked the Commander in the eyes for a second. The red haired boy's eyes slipped to the pile of omelette in the center of the blanket with sinister intention.

"Claus… Claus no!" Lucas tried to stop him, but it was too late. The boy who could not even manage to pick up an omelette now managed to spear two at the same time and began to eat them.

"Luc… If he's your brother… I really don't wanna see you this excited over omelettes…" came a nervous comment from Duster. Kumatore nodded in agreement. She had pulled her plate protectively towards herself. That didn't stop the Commander from eying it though.

The two omelettes held him off for about ten minutes. That was enough time for Lucas to grab the last spare and eat it. However, the Commander didn't look quite satisfied yet. The only one that hadn't completely finished there meal yet was Kumatora. She's spent too much time protecting it to complete it.

"Don't even think about it…" she hissed through a mouthful. While she took another peace, her plate was mostly unprotected. The Commander tried to go for it then.

Kumatora stabbed her fork right in front of his hand, stopping the boy. If he had been a half second faster, or she had been a half second slower, that would have ended in blood. The Commander gave a childish pout, the most expressive thing Lucas had seen him do yet, and pulled his hand back onto his lap.

Lucas gave a sigh of relief. He was glad that was over. However… The Commander wasn't looking very good. The moment he stopped eating, he turned an alarming shade of green. Ionia was the first to realize what was going to happen.

"Someone get a bucket before he ruins the table cloth!" the Magypsy yelled. Duster, as the fastest person with opposable thumbs was up and rushing for a bucket.

"…I…I do not feel very well…" The Commander grumbled. He leaned down and covered his mouth with his human hand. A soft gagging sound could be heard.

Duster saved the day, returning just in time with the bucket. He slid it in front of the red headed boy. There was a nasty sound and an equally nasty smell, and then the bucket found itself partially filled with the remains of omelettes.

"Well… That could have gone worse?" Lucas tried to remain positive. "I mean, at least he didn't ruin the tablecloth and nobody got stabbed…"

Kumatora gave him a very unimpressed look. "I wasn't trying to miss, you know. That was just luck. You're lucky that I didn't seriously hurt him!"

"Sorry about that, Kuma…" Lucas looked down in shame. He could hear a sigh from his pink haired friend.

"I hope you're right about him being your brother, Luc. Food thief or not, he seem like a good kid when he's not trying to kill us." This got a little smile out of Lucas.

"Thanks. I hope I'm right too." With that, he leaned over and rubbed the boy he assumed to be Claus' back. "At least I know he likes omelettes almost as much as Claus."

Kumatora paled. "Almost?"

Lucas gave a devious little laugh. "Oh, you don't even know…"

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**I always felt I was a little too vague with the omelette incident and felt like writing some humour for now. Then again, if anyone else finds this funny, well, that is still to be seen. I don't know why I find food stealing so funny.**


	3. With Duster

**This scene was originally going to go where the scene between Ionia and the Commander was. I ended up replacing it because I have difficulty writing Duster. That might show up again. I hope it turns out alright.**

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The Commander was having trouble sleeping once again tonight. It wasn't anyone's fault, he was just not used to getting so much sleep. Well, it was someone's fault in the way that the bruises on his body kept him from resting. That would make it his fault for challenging this group to a fight and losing. Now he had no PSI and was trapped in a very crowded sleeping bag. He wasn't used to life without PSI. The PSI would normal sooth all of his aches and bruises. Now, they were left to deal with themselves.

It didn't help very much that Lucas somehow always found a way to wrap his arms around the Commander. As small as the boy was, his grip was as tight as a metal clamp and always managed to rub against at least one of the red haired boy's bruises.

Untangling himself from Lucas was the hardest part. The other boy just did not seem to want to let go. Eventually, he got free. The Commander quickly got out of the sleeping bag. It would only take Lucas about five seconds to get him all tangled up again. It was all or nothing. The boy had to escape while he could. He felt a little bad leaving the blond there though. He could see Lucas was a little more uncomfortable sleeping on his own.

The Commander had no time to worry about him, though. This was one of the few times he could go outside and get fresh air. Not that he was trying to escape. In his current state, he wouldn't make it far. He just wanted to sit outside for a minute and feel the breeze. When he was with the Pig Masks, he never cared about such things, but since he'd been taken by this group, he found himself enjoying certain things.

The boy was careful as he tiptoed his way outside. He passed by the friendly brown dog and the not so friendly princess without waking either of them. He feared what would happen if he woke up the pink haired girl. She was the angry type, he could tell. With her PSI, he could easily imagine her setting him on fire for waking her up. That would be the end of the Commander of the Pig Masks.

The boy left the house as quietly as possible. It was too dark to see well at first, but he did catch the outline of another person. He first thought was that it was Lucas, angry at him for sneaking out again. To his surprise, though, he found it was actually the thief, Duster.

Duster had always, the Commander didn't know why he could make definitive statements like always here, had very little presence unless he wanted you to notice him. The man could easily pass through an area unseen. Because of this, the red headed boy hadn't even thought to look for him with the sleeping crowd. Even if the Commander had thought of it, he probably wouldn't have noticed Duster. The tall man was a mystery. He could get some idea of what the others were like just from witnessing them talking, but Duster was different. He was strange in the oddest way.

While the Commander may not have noticed Duster, that was not a two way street. The taller man looked back to the young Commander. He might be angry, but the Commander couldn't tell. The moonlight only allowed the front of the man to be seen. When he was turned around everything was shadowed. As much as he wanted to, the red head could make out no expressions.

"…I was not trying to run away," the Commander stated. He hoped the man would believe him. "I was just having trouble sleeping and wanted to see the sky."

This got a nod out of the normally quiet Duster. "It's hard to sleep with a big group sometimes. I understand. I have trouble sleeping past…" The tall man looked around nervously. "Well, past Kumatora's snoring. I don't sleep well at night anyway."

The Commander wondered why he quieted down when he talked about the snoring. With how loud the princess snored, she wouldn't be able to hear him over the sounds she was making anyway. The Commander could hardly hear himself think over it.

"That might be it. I am supposed to be able to sleep under any condition, but it's difficult…" He walked over by Duster and sat beside him on the ledge. Now he could get a clear view of the other male. The man looked tired more than anything. At least he wasn't mad. "I think it is because I do not have my PSI working. It is… Uncomfortable. I feel it itching at me, but I cannot touch it. It keeps me awake. Also, Lucas…"

Duster nodded knowingly. "We didn't used to have three sleeping bags. I know how much of a cuddler he is. He tried it once on Kumatora and had a bruised face for a week. That's why I had to be in the middle."

That got a little laugh out of the Commander. Quickly realizing his sudden loss of control, the boy slapped his hands over his mouth.

"Don't feel bad for laughing. Lucas was okay in the end, just a lot more cautious about whom he put his arms around." Duster looked over the Commander's expression. It quickly became clear to him that the reason the boy gasped wasn't because he felt bad for Lucas. "There's nothing wrong with laughing either. It's just a reaction to something you find funny."

"I shouldn't find anything funny," the younger boy corrected.

"There's nothing wrong with that either. You're a person. That means that you should feel things. Does being able to feel upset you?" the thief asked quietly, he voice also drown out by the snoring in the background.

"It doesn't upset me, because I should not feel upset. It's more that I know that I am not allowed these things. When I return home, I will be punishment for letting my emotions run me. Master Porky will not be very happy." He could imagine it now. There was a wave of horrible punishments coming his way.

"Then you don't have to go back to him. Lucas wants you here, that means that we're not going to kick you out. Well, maybe Kuma… But she won't be able to. Then you can go to Tazmily." Duster leaned over and patted his back. "They'll be sure to welcome you back."

The Commander narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips. "Back? …So you think I'm this Claus boy too. Well, what if I am not? What will you do? I do not want to take that boy's place in the village. If he returns, then what? I don't care what you people say, I am not Claus!"

The red headed boy didn't realize that his anger could slip out so easily. He couldn't take it back once it was out. Why did being called Claus hurt him so much? The boy would not find the explanations in his near empty head.

Dust didn't seem taken back at all. In fact, though his expression were very hard to read, he looked like he sort of enjoyed that fact the Commander got so upset over this. "See, you can feel things. You shouldn't stunt those feeling just because you're worried what will happen if you let yourself feel them."

The Commander crossed his arms and looked away from the tall man. This conversation was starting to annoy him, and Duster offered no answers to his questions, both the ones that he vocalized and the ones he kept hidden in his mind.

"If you're not Claus, then you can make a new life for yourself in the village. Make it clear you're not him. There's a chance you are, but then there's also a chance that you are not. Until you know for sure, don't make any hasty choices." Duster paused for a moment. "Have you ever heard of the DCMC?"

Of course he had. A lot of the soldier when to see the band. They talked about it constantly. Apparently, it had recently fallen apart, after the loss of one of its members, Lucky. As little as the Commander wanted to know that, the soldiers talked about it so much, it was carved into his mind. He decided to give a little nod.

"Well, about three years ago, I ended up losing most of my memory. The DCMC welcomed me as a member of their band and gave me the name Lucky." The thief sighed wistfully. Even someone as dense as the Commander could tell he missed the other members of the bad. "Then Kumatora told me that my name was Duster. I was upset, because I didn't want to be anybody but Lucky. I couldn't deny the name stirred something in me, but I wanted to stay as Lucky. If I remembered I was Duster, what would I do? Would I have to leave? If I wasn't Duster but I took his place, then what would I do? As soon as everyone found out I was a fake, they would cast me out and call me a liar. The band wouldn't be able to take me back either, because Duster went against the Pig Masks and the band is under their control. I'd have nowhere to go."

Until this point, the Commander had felt that nobody could understand how he felt. It had hit him finally that if anyone could understand how he felt, it was Duster. The boy felt guilty for snapping at him as he had.

"I… I feel the same way. I don't know what to do. What if I am Claus, but I've changed? What if I've changed too much for everyone. I'm not a good person. Will Lucas and the rest of the village be ashamed of me? What if I disappoint them?" The Commander could hardly believe he was letting anyone hear these thoughts. He had locked them up secretly in the bad of his mind, so tightly not even a PSI user could read them.

"You're just going to have to be yourself. If they won't accept you then that's their problem. I know for a fact that no matter if you are Claus or not, Lucas will stay with you. It's a scary thought, but you'll be okay." The tall thief gently patted the Commander on the back. For once, the red heard didn't shy away from such affection.

"Thank you, Duster. I didn't think anyone else could have thought these things." The boy nervously moved from side to side. "…Do you ever miss the DCMC?"

"Of course. I miss them every day. Sometimes I miss them so much that I wish Duster and Lucky are different people. Sometimes I even feel they are different people. Even still, I don't regret getting my memories back." Duster stretched and gave a little yawn. "I love travelling with Kuma, Lucas and Boney. If I stayed with the DCMC, I would never have remembered them, and then we would have let you get all the needles. That would be bad, right?"

The Commander gave a little nod. He remembered Lucas saying that the world would have ended if a heartless person was the one to pull the final needle. "Are you going to be going to bed now?"

"I could, if I wanted to. I've always had trouble sleeping at night, since that's when I went to train, but if you want me to stay up with you, I will." Duster looked to the younger boy for a minute. Though he said nothing, it was clear the Commander wanted him to stay. "Guess I'll stay then."

"Thank you again. You're really surprisingly nice for a thief." The Commander gave a sigh of a relief. If he could say with a kind man, maybe even a kind friend, like this, as well as a gentle person like Lucas and a kind dog like Boney, maybe living among normal people wouldn't be so bad.

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**Wow, I probably shouldn't have cut this scene. I might actually like ti better than the one I replaced it with. Not to self, always type up your scenes before you decide whether you should cut them or not. I really did mean to put this one in later. I just didn't have time to. Everything happened so fast at the end.**


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